UC Berkeley students storm field during football game to protest firing of professor

On Saturday, a group of student protesters disrupted the USC vs. Cal Berkeley football game in support of a teacher who has been suspended for stalking and sexual harassment.

UC Berkeley students rushed the field at California Memorial Stadium and sat down on the 50-yard line shortly after the coin toss. The protesters wore shirts that read, "Justice 4 Ivonne" in reference to suspended professor, Ivonne del Valle, and demanded that she be reinstated at the liberal arts university before they were handcuffed and escorted off the field by authorities, per KQED.

Ivonne del Valle was suspended from UC Berkeley and placed on administrative leave following an extensive investigation into claims of stalking, sexual harassment, and retaliation. According to KQED, del Valle allegedly repeatedly stalked and harassed Joshua Clover, an English and Comparative Literature professor at UC Davis, which began in 2018 and lasted until 2022.

She also reportedly retaliated against Clover and violated a no-contact order.

Professor del Valle admitted to many of the allegations brought forth during the university's investigation which revealed that she keyed Clover's vehicle, vandalized property outside his apartment door, contacted his friends, posted images of his partner online, left messages outside his mother's house, and mass called Clover's office phone line, according to the outlet.

In an interview, del Valle took ownership of her actions and said: "If I had the opportunity to do things differently, I would do them differently. I did write outside his door, 'Here lives a pervert.' I did that. And again, I'm not proud."

Despite the results of the investigation, the UC Berkeley student protesters want to see her return to the classroom. Professor Ivonne del Valle worked in the Spanish and Portuguese departments and was a favorite professor among so-called "LatinX" students and faculty.

If del Valle is not reinstated, her student supporters are threatening to go on a hunger strike.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore cited privacy laws when asked about the case, going to to say that "This means that the university may not publicly disclose confidential information or correct the record if others choose to share — or misrepresent — information related to a private matter."

"Gilmore added that faculty misconduct allegations are not unilaterally handled by the administration, and that if the Academic Senate’s Privilege and Tenure Committee determines that it is more likely than not in sexual harassment cases that misconduct occurred, then the committee forwards a disciplinary recommendation, up to and including termination, to the chancellor," KQED reports.

Correction: An earlier version of this story claimed that Janet Gilmore had commented directly on del Valle's case. It has been corrected to show that her comments were generally speaking, and not specific to the case.